USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County Indiana (Volume 1) > Part 13
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"Ordered by the board that there a new township be laid off from Anderson township, beginning at the corner of section 23, township 19, range 8; thence north to the north corner of the county; thence west three miles to the northwest corner of section 4, township 22; thence south to the southwest corner of section 12, township 19, range 8; thence east to the place of beginning, to be known and designated by the name of Union."
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The commissioners' clerk evidently made two mistakes in entering this order in the records. First, the northwest corner of section 4, township . 22, is in Grant county, one mile north of the Madison county line. It is probable that the northwest corner of section 9 or the southwest cor- ner of section 4 was intended, as those two corners join on the county line just three miles west of the northeast corner of the county. Sec- ond, to run a line from that point south to the southwest corner of section 12, township 19, range 8, would be a geographical impossibility, for the reason that section 12 lies in Delaware county, the southwest corner of it being one mile east of Chesterfield and two miles due north of the starting point. Transposing the figures gives section 21, which was doubtless the one meant, the southwest corner of that section being exactly three miles west of the "place of beginning."
As at first organized, with the boundaries as above indicated, Union township was twenty-one miles long from north to south and three miles wide from east to west. The organization of Richland, Monroe and Van Buren absorbed all the northern part-in fact all of the town- ship except nine square miles of the southern end. Subsequently six square miles were added on the south, carrying the southern boundary down to the line separating townships 18 and 19, and the northern boundary was fixed at the middle of sections 33, 34 and 35 of township 20, giving Union its present area of nineteen and one-half square miles.
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It is bounded on the north by Richland township; on the east by Del- aware county; on the south by Adams township, and on the west by the townships of Anderson and Richland.
In the original order for the organization of the township it was specified that the first election should be held on the second Saturday in June, 1830, at the house of Thomas Vananda, in the town of West Union (now Chesterfield), for one justice of the peace. At the August term the commissioners appointed William Bodle constable for the new township.
It is claimed by some that the township was named on account of its being situated opposite the point where the counties of Henry, Delaware and Madison form a "union," but in view of the great extent of territory included at the beginning, it is more than likely that the name was adopted out of regard for the Federal Union of states.
The White river enters the township from Delaware county about a mile and a half south of the northeast corner and flows westward for
AN EARLY DWELLING IN UNION TOWNSHIP
two miles, when it turns southward and crosses the western boundary a little south of the center. Its principal tributaries in Union are the Turkey creek from the north and Mill creek from the south, both of which empty into the river near Chesterfield. Sly Fork, an affluent of Fall creek, flows southward in the southeastern portion. The sur- face is generally level, except along the White river, where there are some bluffs and hills. On the south side of this stream in Union town- ship, half a mile east of the western border, are the celebrated mounds described in Chapter II.
When the first white men came to this part of the county they found the ground covered with a dense forest, consisting of black walnut, oak, hickory, ash, poplar, beech, and other varieties of trees, but most of the valuable timber has disappeared. The soil is fertile, much of it being a black, sandy loam with clay subsoil and well adapted to agricultural
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purposes. The county infirmary is in this township, about half a mile west of Chesterfield.
William Dilts, who came from Montgomery county, Ohio, in March, 1821, and settled on the east side of Mill creek, is credited with being the first white man to erect a cabin in what is now Union township. Here he dwelt for about three years, when, being without sufficient means to enter the land, the place he had selected for a home was en- tered from under him by Joshua Baxter. Mr. Dilts then went to Del- aware county, but in 1829 he returned and entered 160 acres just east of where he had first located. Upon this tract he built a double log house, which he opened as a hotel, the first in that part of the county. In 1835 he erected a brick house, the first of its kind in the township, near the log house. This building was also conducted as a hotel for many years.
About three months after Mr. Dilts settled on Mill creek in 1821, Frederick Bronnenberg came into the township. He was from Rich- land county, Ohio, on his way to Sangamon county, Illinois, with an ox team, when one of his oxen gave out near Mr. Dilts' place, upon whom he called for assistance. Upon being informed that there were no roads to speak of farther west, Mr. Bronnenberg decided to locate in the neighborhood. He first moved his family into an abandoned cabin that had been erected by an Indian trader named McChester, but the following spring built a cabin of his own on section 16. This sec- tion was school land, which was afterward purchased by Mr. Bron- nenberg, and which is still owned by his descendants.
Prior to the organization of the township in 1830, the following persons settled within its present limits: Isaac K. Errick, from New York; John Suman, from Maryland, an unmarried man who made his home with Mr. Dilts; Daniel Noland and his four sons-in-law-William Woods, John Martin, Jason Hudson and Joseph Carpenter-from North Carolina; Amasa Makepeace, from Massachusetts; David Croan and a Mrs. Shimer, from Ohio; Bazil Neely, from Virginia; John Pugh, and some others.
Michael, son of Frederick Bronnenberg, born on November 21, 1821, was the first white child born in the township, and the second white male child in the county. The first wedding was on December 29, 1825, when Nancy Shimer became the wife of Allen Makepeace, and the sec- ond was that of John Pugh and Celia Bracken in September, 1829.
For the first four years after the settlement of the township was begun, the settlers had to take their corn to the mill at the falls of Fall creek to have it ground into meal. In 1825 Amasa Makepeace offered to build a mill on Mill creek, a short distance above the mouth, if the neighbors would construct a race for the water necessary to run it. They cheer- fully agreed and before the close of that year the Makepeace mill was a landmark in that section of the county. Soon after the mill was completed, Allen Makepeace, a son of Amasa, opened the first store in a log cabin near by, hauling his goods from Cincinnati in wagons. This was the first mercantile establishment in Union township.
A saw-mill was built on the White river by Frederick Bronnenberg in 1837. Later buhrs for grinding both wheat and corn were added,
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and still later a carding machine. The entire plant was destroyed by fire in 1847. When the Indianapolis & Bellfontaine (now the Big Four) Railroad was completed through the township, Brazleton Noland built a large flour mill at Chesterfield and not long afterward J. B. Anderson established a saw-mill there. Both these mills have passed away.
Samuel Suman started the first distillery in the township, on his farm on the north side of the White river, at an early date, and Fred- erick Bronnenberg afterward built a distillery on his farm. Like his mill, this distillery was destroyed by fire.
The first school house was built in 1829, near where the town of Chesterfield now stands, and the first school was taught that winter by Jason Hudson. The six brick school houses in the township in 1912 were valued at $5,000, and the seven teachers employed in the public schools received $3,680 in salaries.
The United Brethren church organized in Chesterfield in 1840 was the first religious society. This church was followed by the Baptists in 1868, and in 1870 a Methodist congregation was organized. In 1890 the Spiritualist camp grounds were established near Chesterfield and meeting have been held annually since that time, usually in the month of August.
Union township has about forty miles of public highway and two lines of railroad. The Big Four runs from southwest to northeast through the central part and the Pan Handle from northwest to south- east through the southern part. Chesterfield, on the Big Four, is the only railroad station in the township. When the Pan Handle was com- pleted a station called Slyfork was started near the place where the railroad crosses the stream of that name, and a postoffice called Bran- son was established by the government. Ballingall & Tucker opened a store, a sawmill was built, and for a time Slyfork gave evidences of having "come to stay." But the machinery of the mill was taken to another location, the postoffice was discontinued, and finally the stock of goods was removed and the building torn down. Nothing is left to mark the place where this promising hamlet once stood.
VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP
This township occupies the northeast corner of the county and is five miles square, with an area of twenty-five square miles, or sixteen thousand acres. It was named in honor of Martin Van Buren, who was inaugurated president of the United States on March 4, 1837, and two days later the township was organized, as shown by the following entry in the records of the commissioners' court for that date:
"On petition filed, and due deliberation thereupon had, it is ordered by the Board that Congressional township No. 22 north, of range 8 east, in Madison county, be organized into a township to be known and designated by the name and style of Van Buren township, and it is also ordered that they hold an election in said township, at the house of Hiram Palmer therein, on the first Monday of April next, for the pur- pose of electing one justice of the peace."
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Hiram Palmer was appointed inspector of the election and it was further ordered that all elections in the township should be held at his house until the board might otherwise direct. From the published accounts of that first election it is clear that Mr. Palmer did not serve as inspector. He and Samuel Fenimore were the opposing candidates for the office of justice of the peace. Early on the morning of the elec- tion Mr. Fenimore and three of his friends appeared at the polls and cast four votes for Fenimore for "squire." No other votes were cast until just before the time for closing the polls, when Palmer and four others came up and cast five votes for Palmer, electing him by a major- ity of one vote. The Fenimore crowd no doubt felt somewhat crest- fallen, when they realized their defeat, especially as they had made no effort during the day to bring out other voters and then had to witness the victory snatched from them when it was too late.
The surface of this township is generally level and was once heavily timbered. The soil is principally a black loam in the level portions and clay where the surface is rolling. It is all highly productive and, now that the level lands are thoroughly drained, some of the largest crops in the county are produced in Van Buren, especially of wheat and corn. Pipe creek, which flows across the southeast corner, and Mud creek, which has its source near Summitville are the only water courses.
There is some question as to who the first settlers were, or just when they located in the township. From sources believed to be reliable it is learned that about 1830 Jacob Davis, John and Hiram Palmer and Thomas Gordon, came from Virginia and located a little north of where the town of Summitville now stands. Between that time and the organ- ization of the township quite a number of immigrants came in and entered lands. Among them were John and William Kelsey, who set- tled on section 8, near the Grant county line; John Cree and Robert Robb, on section 17, immediately south of the Kelseys; Samuel Feni- more, on section 20, near those who came in 1830; Thomas Cartwright and James Blades, on section 31, in the southwest corner; John Moore, who came from North Carolina and settled near Samuel Fenimore.
Others who came in during this period and settled in various parts of the township were Ephraim and Madison Broyles (father and son), John Shields, Zachariah Robinson, David Culberson and John M. Zedeker. Some of these remained but a short time. Believing that bet- ter opportunities could be found in Illinois or Iowa which were just then being settled, they moved on westward to find farms on the prairies, where the arduous labor of "making a clearing" could be avoided. .
After the organization of the township settlement increased steadily. By 1839 there was considerable travel over the old Indianapolis & Fort Wayne state road and in that year Samuel Fenimore built an addi- tion to his cabin and opened a tavern for the accommodation of travel- ers who might pass over the "Fort Wayne trace," as the road was called, and who might need a "square meal" or a night's lodging. This was the first hotel in the township. The first saw-mill was built by Moore, Wellington & Harold in 1854, to which a run of buhrs for grinding corn was afterward added. The first store was opened by Robert Robb in
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1838, and the first postoffice was kept by John Kelsey. The first black- smith shop was started by Jasper Webb and the first shoemaker was a man named Snelling. In 1868 the first flour mill was built at Summit- ville by Columbus Moore.
It is believed that the first school house in Van Buren township was a small log cabin, about a mile and half north of Summitville, but the date when it was built or when the first school was taught there cannot be definitely ascertained. George Doyle was the first teacher. In 1912 there were eight brick school houses, exclusive of the building in the incorporated town of Summitville, and the value of these eight houses was estimated at $10,000. Ten teachers were employed in the township schools during the school years of 1912-13 and the amount paid to them in salaries was $4,204.
Probably the first religious society to be organized was a German Baptist church, which was established at an early date. A Christian congregation was organized about 1859, the Zion Baptist church in 1874, the Wesleyan Methodist church at Summitville the same year, and the Baptists and Presbyterians also have churches in Summitville.
Van Buren township has transportation facilities above the average. Over forty miles of public highway traverse all sections of the township, and a large proportion of these roads consists of graveled roadways of the most approved type. The Michigan division of the Big Four Rail- road runs north and south through the western part, through Summit- ville, and is paralleled by a line of the Indiana Union Traction Company, over which electric trains run every hour. Summitville is the only town.
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CHAPTER VII THE CITY OF ANDERSON
LOCATION-FIRST KNOWN AS ANDERSONTOWN-FIRST INCORPORATION- CHANGE OF NAME-SECOND INCORPORATION-BECOMES A CITY-FIRST CITY OFFICIALS - PUBLIC UTILITIES - WATER WORKS - ELECTRIC LIGHTING PLANT-FIRE DEPARTMENT-POLICE DEPARTMENT-SEWER- AGE SYSTEM-STREET RAILWAY-THE "MULE MOTOR"-ELECTRIC LINES-ILLUMINATING GAS-POSTOFFICE-SOME HISTORIC HOTELS- FIRST NEWSPAPER-A POLITICAL DRUG STORE-BOARD OF TRADE- FIRST CITY DIRECTORY-SKETCHES OF THE MAYORS-STATISTICS AND COMMENT.
Anderson, the county seat of Madison county, is pleasantly situated on an eminence on the south side of the White river, about five miles southeast of the geographical center of the county and thirty-nine miles northeast of Indianapolis, the capital of the state. It is located upon the site formerly occupied by the Delaware chief, Kikthawenund, or Captain Anderson, for whom the city was named. The records show that the original site in section 12, embracing 320 acres, was entered by Wil- liam Conner previous to the organization of the county. He after- ward sold it to John Berry, who in 1823 laid out the first plat of the town and on November 7, 1827, conveyed a considerable portion of it to the county in consideration of the seat of justice being permanently located there. The following year the business of the county was re- moved from Pendleton, which prior to that time had been the seat of justice by common consent.
During the first ten years of its existence the growth of Anderson- town, as the place was at first called, was rather slow. In 1837 the population did not exceed two hundred people. That year witnessed the introduction of the system of internal improvements throughout the state and "Andersontown" began to wake up. One of the enter- prises projected by the board of internal improvements was the Indiana Central canal (a branch of the Wabash & Erie), which was to leave the main canal "at the most suitable point between Fort Wayne and Logansport, running thence to Muncietown, thence to Indianapolis," etc. As this branch of the canal system would pass Anderson it had the effect of almost doubling the population within two years. It was dur- ing this period that the subject of incorporating the town first came up for consideration, and, although there was considerable opposition to such a proceeding, the legislature that met in December, 1838, passed an act "to incorporate the town of Andersontown, in Madison county, containing 350 inhabitants." Vol. 1-7
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Pursuant to this act, the county commissioners, at their January · session in 1839 ordered "That an election be held at the court-house in said town, by the citizens of said town, on Monday, the 21st day of January, instant, for the purpose of electing trustees and appointing officers to govern the town, and upon the citizens complying with this order, the said town is hereby and thereafter to be considered an incor- porated town."
Almost immediately after the town was incorporated came the dis- couraging news that the work of internal improvements projected by the state was suspended, and that the canal which had promised mate- rial growth and prosperity to the budding city was never to become a reality. A decline in population followed and with it a decline in the interests of town corporation, which lost its vitality and finally died a natural death. Anderson was then a village for about fifteen years, or until the summer of 1853, when it was incorporated for the second time.
In the meantime Robert N. Williams, county auditor, and James Hazlett, county clerk, on behalf of the citizens, went before the legis- lature of 1844-45 and presented a request to have the name of the town changed to Anderson, dropping the last syllable of the old name of "Andersontown," on the ground that the name was too cumbersome and did not sound well. The petition was granted by the general as- sembly and since that time the official name of the place has been "Anderson," though many years elapsed before the old settlers could break themselves of the habit of using the old name.
With the completion of the Indianapolis & Bellefontaine Railroad through Madison county, and the establishment of a station at Ander- son in 1852, the town soon began to manifest signs of increased busi- ness activity and the necessity for a town government became apparent. Consequently a public meeting was called for the evening of April 25, 1853, at the court-house, for the purpose of considering the ques- tion of incorporation. At that meeting Samuel Myers presided and P. H. Lemon acted as secretary. After some discussion, Dr. Townsend Ryan offered a resolution declaring that it was the sense of the meet- ing that Anderson should be incorporated as a town under the laws of the state of Indiana. The resolution was adopted almost unanimously and on motion of Milton S. Robinson, John Davis, Townsend Ryan and Nineveh Berry were appointed a committee to fix the town boundaries. Armstrong Taylor was appointed to take a census of the population. Steps were also taken for the circulation of a petition to be presented to the board of county commissioners at the next regular session.
The commissioners met on June 6, 1853 (the first Monday), and on Thursday following John Davis, J. C. Thompson and J. W. Sansberry appeared before the board and filed an application for the incorporation of the town, which application was accompanied by a map or plat, showing the bounds as surveyed by Nineveh Berry. After the applica- tion and plat had been examined by the commissioners, the following action was taken:
"And the board being satisfied that the requirements of the statutes, in such case made and provided, have been fully complied with, it is therefore ordered that the said territory included and embodied in the
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survey, to wit: (Then follows a description of the boundaries), be incorporated as the Town of Anderson. . And the qualified . voters of the said territory to be incorporated are hereby notified to meet at the courthouse in said town on Saturday the 16th day of July next to determine whether said territory shall be incorporated," etc.
For some reason not apparent, the election was held on Tuesday, June 28, 1853, instead of on the date fixed by the commissioners. James W. Sansberry, Burket Eads and S. B. Mattox were the election in- spectors. The result was thirty-six votes in favor of incorporation and one against the proposition. The town government established at this time lasted for about twelve years, when some of the leading citizens, believing that Anderson had outgrown a municipal organization of that nature, took steps to organize a city government. For some time the subject was canvassed and on August 28, 1865, an election was held to decide whether the old form of government should continue or Ander- son should become incorporated as a city. At that election 217 votes were cast, 207 of which were in favor of a city government and only ten in the negative. The next step was to comply with the requirements of the state laws and obtain a charter. When this was done the city was divided into three wards and the first election for city officers was held with the following results: Mayor, Robert N. Williams; clerk, C. D. Thompson; treasurer, Joseph Fulton; marshal, M. N. Harriman; city prosecutor, E. V. Long; councilmen-First ward, John D. Mershon and Stephen Noland; second ward, Eli B. Goodykoontz and George Nichol; third ward, Winburn R. Pierse and Benjamin Sebrell.
Following is a list of the city officials in 1913: Frank P. Foster, mayor; Maurice Collins, clerk; John C. Williams, controller; Otis P. Crim, treasurer; Charles T. Sansberry, city attorney; George A. Lan- phear, city engineer; Charles G. Alford, chief of the fire department; John B. Pritchard, superintendent of police; Henry C. Brown and Edward F. Staton, councilmen-at-large; J. H. Mellette, councilman first ward; Fred T. Barber, councilman second ward; Edgar Tupman, councilman third ward. The board of public works is composed of H. C. Brown, F. T. Barber and Edgar Tupman, and the board of health of Drs. E. W. Chittenden, W. A. Lail and J. A. Long.
In the matter of electric light and water works, Anderson has suc- cessfully solved the problem of municipal ownership. Prior to 1885 the city was without fire protection and after several disastrous fires had occurred the citizens decided in favor of the establishment of some system of water works. An appropriation of $20,000 was made as a starter, and L. J. Burr, T. M. Norton and H. J. Bronnenberg were ap- pointed trustees. On account of an injury received in an accident on August 22, 1888, Mr. Bronnenberg resigned and was succeeded by Harrison Canaday. A building was erected and two pumps-each hav- ing a capacity of one million gallons daily-were installed. About five miles of mains were laid and forty-five hydrants placed in position by July, 1886, when the pumps were started for the first time. It was thought when this plant was erected and equipped that it would be suffi- cient to supply the city's needs for the next twenty-five years. But the water works had but fairly started when natural gas was discov-
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ered at Anderson and the city began to spread over new territory, which demanded that mains be laid to supply the inhabitants with water.
Meetings of the water works trustees and the city council were called to consider what was best to be done in the emergency, and in the spring of 1892 an appropriation of $65,000 for enlarging the plant was made. It was soon discovered that the entire works would have to be practically rebuilt. The mains were too small to deliver a larger sup- ply of water than they were already delivering; new buildings were necessary to accommodate the large pumps and boilers necessary to meet the demand, and the result was a bond issue of about $150,000 to secure the funds for the purpose of putting in a water works system that would be large enough to supply the constantly increasing demand for water. Larger mains were laid from the pumping station and the old ones used in a secondary capacity. Two duplex compound pumps with a daily capacity of eight million gallons were purchased and installed in a new building and the boiler capacity was increased in proportion. According to the report of Henry Drach, superintendent of the water works, for the year ending on December 31, 1912, the value of the buildings and machinery was, in round numbers $112,220, and the amount of water furnished to consumers during the year was 501,451,- 250 gallons. During the year about three miles of new mains were laid.
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